ABSTRACT
It took Barry Jenkins fifteen months to finish the screenplay and film of My Josephine. He wrote the first draft in mid-September 2001 for his BFA. Screenwriting II class, and later—much later—directed the film for his Filmmaking 3 project. A year after writing the first draft, Barry found himself in my Screenwriting III class with “a mandate” to write another draft of the script. After My Josephine, Barry moved to LA where he worked as a director’s assistant and development associate for Harpo Films. He also wrote an award-winning feature, Medicine for Melancholy, which premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. “A cinematic love letter to San Francisco,” as Barry calls it, the film has won numerous awards, including three Spirit Award Nominations (Best First Feature, The Acura Someone to Watch Award and Best Cinematography), a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Director, as well as awards from the San Francisco International, Sarasota, and Woodstock Film Festivals.
